Don’t
opt for solar energy before you’ve optimised your home. Part 2.
By
Bevan Jones, Technical Director at Soltra Energy
Heating geyser water is typically the
largest cost of energy in a home today. An average South African family will
spend R10 000 or more to heat water every year.
In my last blog, I suggested that the
next step to take before considering a state-of-the-art solar energy system is
to install a modern heat pump to assist your geyser. Where a geyser uses three
units of electrical energy to produce three units of heat energy, a heat pump
converts just one unit of electrical energy into four units of heat energy.
What is a heat pump?
It’s a device that provides heat energy
from a source of heat to a destination called a ‘heat sink’. Essentially, heat
pumps move thermal energy opposite to the direction of spontaneous
heat flow. Air conditioners and freezers are familiar examples of
heat pumps which absorb heat from a cold space and release it to a warmer one.
A heat pump will use this principle to
heat geyser water to 55-degrees C using hardly any energy.
A heat pump is relatively easy to plumb
into a home or business. It makes use of a free renewable energy source, for
example the air at ambient temperature in a roof, basement or storeroom which
is drawn through a condenser to heat water. A typical heat pump is up
to 370% efficient compared to 60-95% for a traditional electric geyser
water heating system.
Heat pumps can also be retro-fitted to
complement existing geysers or be used to support solar energy systems.
Installing a heat pump hot water
solution is the next step towards optimising your home or business from an
energy perspective. It will set you on the road to meaningful energy savings,
ultimately transforming your living or work space into a much smarter version
of itself.
Investing in a heat pump sets the stage
for the installation of solar thermal panels or a state-of-the art solar PV
energy system which will set you free from the hassles associated with regular
power outages and grid unreliability.
It will also pave the way for you to monitor
your energy consumption in real-time with a CarbonTRACK cost-reducing programme,
giving you a better understanding of your electricity usage patterns and how to
save money.
More details about the importance of solar
energy, the future of home automation and the power of the Internet of Things (IoT)
in my next blog.
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